What is ARNe?

ARNe (Regis University Academic Research Network) ARNe for short, is the graduate student run and managed intranet that spans our campus locations, Fort Collins to Colorado Springs and online. The CIT labs/classrooms are nodes on ARNe that are managed by all our second year graduate students in conjunction with faculty advisors.  Both graduate and undergraduate teaching occurs within the labs during each term of the year and through our Vlabs. Each CIT classroom allows students to gain valuable hands-on experience with system engineering, provides advanced teaching tools for instruction, interact with other MSCIT students and a place for students to complete their professional project.

What is the ARNe mission?

ARNe has a three-fold mission:

• Support the MSCIT teaching curriculum (we also support the undergraduate teaching at CIS/SPS) through hands-on experience with hardware and software
• Provide a pleasant, stimulating environment for student professional projects 
• Support and encourage the collaboration between Oracle DBAs and the system engineering students.

What is the structure of the ARNe network? How is it organized?

The ARNe network is organized as an IT company.  The operating structure follows the ITIL framework and is based on Service Orientated Architecture.  The group has a tiered personnel structure; tier one being the least experienced, through tier three being the most. Each operating group Systems and Data, Networking, Integrated Services and App Development  takes on an operating portion of the network. Here are a few of the existing operating groups:

• Feeding and care of servers (DHCP/DNS, Domains, ghost, Oracle, Web) and workstations  
• Configuration tracking and updates of lab procedures 
• Curriculum and faculty liaison 
• VPN connectivity using Sonicwall and Cisco PIX
• Firewall and management of security, backup and disaster recover 
• Data Storage on our HDS 6T SAN
• Help desk and trouble ticket system 
• Development, Deployment and Production using  Portal Architecture, Enterprise Java,  etc. 

If I am considering using the SEAD for my professional project, how can I use ARNe to accomplish my project?

You can be part of the Practicum. The SEAD is a type of professional project that follows the same rules as the traditional professional project. There are several elements that constitute the SEAD professional project:

• 6 months tenure working on your SEAD professional project (200XA Jan-June, 200XB July-Dec). We have mandatory virtual monthly business meetings, second Saturday of every month. These meetings allow students to meet as a group and determine the direction that ARNe and the SEAD will take, disseminate information, and share each other problems and progress. On a daily basis we have scheduled and unscheduled work sessions that are driven by our web site To-Do-List. Non-CIT lab campuses have group projects that typically involve support of the DBAs or other areas within the MSCIT curriculum.
• There are three benchmarks that you have to consider before making the decision to apply for the Lab Practicum. 
• Keep in mind that you will need to allocate from 150 hours to 200 hours out of your already busy schedule to your project, i.e. research investigating a lab procedure, time spent in the lab testing your ideas, discussion of your project with your advisor, faculty and fellow student, etc., 
• You will need to keep a journal of events and lessons learned. The use of a journal will demonstrate lessons learned and display growth during your tenure in the SEAD. Also, this document can be used to generate a letter of reference that establishes your work experience at Regis, (think about your next job interview). 
• You will be responsible for a written lab manual or operations procedure, PPT review doc, a research document that represents your lab legacy. 
• Your journal in conjunction with your written work is your deliverables for graduation. 

What networking work experience do I need to have in order to join the SEAD Practicum?

None. The groups within the Practicum represent all levels of experience. Remember the professional project is a demonstration of lessons learned and growth through experience. Two groups of student work in the practicum  each year, July through January, with one-month transition period. The membership mix varies with the type of classes offered and available students. More students are involved with the labs during the construction phase, the maintenance and support phase of the project than when we are up and running.

Is the SEAD for everyone?

No, but if you work best in a loosely supervised but structured environment then this will fit you. And, if you are restricted by confidentiality agreement at work, non-working career changer, or foreign student with visa limitations, you might want to consider the SEAD.

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